The Knights of Columbus is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight.
The Reconquista is the historical term used to describe the military campaigns that Christian kingdoms waged from the 8th century until 1492, in order to retake the Iberian territories which were lost due to Muslim conquests. The beginning of the Reconquista is traditionally dated to the Battle of Covadonga, in which an Asturian army achieved the first Christian victory over the Arab-Berber forces of the Umayyad Caliphate since the beginning of the military invasion. Its culmination came in 1492 with the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the united Spanish Crown of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
An alcázar, from Arabic al-Qasr, is a type of Islamic castle or palace in the Iberian Peninsula built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for governmental figures throughout the Umayyad caliphate and later, for Christian rulers following the Spanish Reconquista. The term alcázar is also used for many medieval castles built by Christians on earlier Roman, Visigothic or Islamic fortifications and is frequently used as a synonym for castillo or castle.
Michael Joseph McGivney was an Irish-American Catholic priest based in New Haven, Connecticut. He founded the Knights of Columbus at a local parish to serve as a mutual aid and fraternal insurance organization, particularly for immigrants and their families. It developed through the 20th century as the world's largest Catholic fraternal organization.
The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when cars were often referred to as horseless carriages.
The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois.
The Order of Santiago, is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago". Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of St. James, to defend Christendom and to remove the Muslim Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. Entrance was not however restricted to nobility of Spain exclusively, and many members have been prominent Catholic Europeans in general. The Order's insignia is particularly recognisable and abundant in Western art.
Carl Albert Anderson is an American lawyer who served as the thirteenth Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus from October 2000 until his retirement in February 2021.
The Saint John Paul II National Shrine is a national shrine in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. It is a place of prayer for Catholics and welcomes people of all faiths. The Shrine houses a permanent exhibit called A Gift of Love: the Life of Saint John Paul II and is home to the Redemptor Hominis Church and Luminous Mysteries Chapel, both of which are decorated with mosaic art designed by Rev. Marko Rupnik, S.J. Mass is celebrated daily in the Redemptor Hominis Church, and the Luminous Mysteries Chapel houses a first-class relic of John Paul II.
The International Alliance of Catholic Knights (IACK) is a non-governmental organization made up of fifteen Roman Catholic fraternal orders from 27 countries on six continents. The IACK was founded in Glasgow on 12 October 1979 at a meeting of the leaders of six fraternal societies, convened on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of the Knights of Saint Columba. The organization is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
John Edward Swift was an American judge who served as the ninth Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus from October 24, 1945, to August 31, 1953.
Martin Henry Carmody was the seventh Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, serving from September 1, 1927, to August 31, 1939.
The Daughters of Isabella is a spiritual, social and charitable organization that was started as a female auxiliary of the Knights of Columbus. The first circle of the Order was founded in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1897, as an auxiliary to the Rev. John Russell Council of the Knights of Columbus for the purpose of uniting all Catholic women in a sisterhood to achieve the following aims; to know one another better, to extend our circle of friends, to centralize all our resources to better help one another and to be a greater force to contend with in the pursuit of good in our society. Its patroness and namesake is Queen Isabella of Castile, Spain.
Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is an entity pertaining to the Apostolic Maronite Patriarchal Church of Antioch and includes the Maronite faithful in the western and central United States. In conformity with the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO), the Eparchy is under the direct jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff. In 2013 there were 52,300 baptized. It is currently ruled by eparch Abdallah Elias Zaidan, MLM.
The history of the Knights of Columbus begins with its founding in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney at St. Mary's Parish in New Haven, Connecticut. The Knights of Columbus was initially a mutual benefit society for a membership of practicing male Catholics. Today, it advocates for Catholic causes and provides a range of philanthropic and support services to Catholic institutions worldwide. It is also one of the world's largest insurance companies and operates the shrine to Pope John Paul II in Washington, D.C.
The political activity of the Knights of Columbus deals with the involvement of the fraternal order in efforts to influence public policy.
Robert John McClory is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Gary in Indiana since 2019.
